"The earth was created by the assistance of the
sun, and it should be left as it was... The country was made without
lines of demarcation, and it is no man's business to divide it..."
--Chief Joseph, Nez
Perce Tribe
There ought not be any problems between blacks and
recently arrived migrant workers in Los Angeles. In fact, the
two are so similar as to be almost mirror images of each other.
One crossed the ‘border’; many of the others other fled the southern
extension of the ‘Mason Dixon Line’. Both groups came to California
fleeing economic, racial and social hardships and seeking only
a better life only to find racial, social and economic oppression
at the hands of the majority population. Our cultures, languages,
foods and festivals differed from and were cast as inferior to
that of the majority culture. In spite of the many triumphs in
the arts, sciences, athletics and all the fields of human endeavors,
we have been cast as inferiors and as “second-class” citizens,
relegated, figuratively, to the back of the bus.
It is both ironic and tragic that we who have struggled
together now find ourselves being egged on by right-wing propagandists
into the possibility of struggling against each other. After gaining
its independence from Spain, Mexico abolished slavery in 1829.
Thousands of runaway slaves gained their freedom through an underground
railroad that ran into Mexico. In 1846 one of the principle reasons
for the US war upon Mexico was the unwillingness of the Mexican
people
to tolerate the existence of slavery in Texas, then as the entire
Southwest, a part of Mexico. And in the modern times, our greatest
leaders Caesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Reies
Tijerina, Huey Newton and Corky Gonzalez were mirrors of each
other and supporters of each other. Brown Berets and Black Panthers
struggled, arm in arm, side by side. This is our history. And
knowing that history, there are hardly any amongst blacks who
could object to workers migrating seeking to feed their families
for that is exactly what we did.
The lie is that migrant workers take our jobs. The
truth is that there ought be jobs for all.
The lie is that such migration lowers wages. The
truth is that the boss sets the wage.
The lie is that there are borders, nations, and
divisions. The truth is that we are all one.
The lie is that there is too little. The truth is
that there could be so much.
And all it takes is work.
There is a secret about work. A secret that is uncovered
every time someone is hired. The secret is that that the worker
brings more to the table than he takes from it. Every person who
labors adds more than she is paid. Think of all the talent and
time wasted standing in front of Home Depot when there are homes,
schools, hospitals, new cities, new vistas to be built and all
it takes is work. We should be welcoming with open arms any and
all who come.
No Borders for Labor
Jobs for All at a Living Wage
John A Imani is an anarcho-communist living
in Los Angeles. His email address is [email protected].